First Minister Alex Salmond today welcomed the announcement that Scottish and Southern Energy (SSE) and Marsh Wind Technology have established a joint venture to secure the future of the Skykon factory at Machrihanish, Campbeltown, where it is currently trading in administration.

The joint venture, Wind Towers Ltd, has submitted a bid and now secured 'preferred bidder' status from administrators, Andrew Davison and Colin Dempster of Ernst & Young.

The joint venture partners will now work through details of their bid which they expect to result in the acquisition of the wind turbine tower manufacturing and assembly plant within the next few weeks.

In addition to producing onshore wind turbine towers, the construction of new facilities to allow the production of turbine towers for offshore wind farms at the site is almost complete, enabling it to participate in the next phase of offshore wind developments.

Mr Salmond said: "I'm pleased to see first-hand the work being undertaken by staff and to hear about Wind Towers' proposals to secure the future of the plant and extend its business to servicing the growing offshore wind market. The creation of the joint venture and securing of preferred bidder status are very welcome developments for Campbeltown and underline the industry's confidence in the skills of the workforce and the important role this plant can play within the renewables industry supply chain.

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"Clearly more detailed discussions are required before the sale can be completed. However, I want to pay credit to SSE, Marsh and the Administrators, who have worked closely with the Scottish Government and our partners to reach this positive breakthrough. Scotland has an established wealth of skills and talent in energy engineering, as well as the natural resources, to become the green energy powerhouse of Europe. I welcome today's announcement and confidently wish Wind Towers Ltd all the best for the future as we work together to forge the new green economy."

SSE is the UK's largest generator of electricity from renewable sources. Marsh Wind Technology is a UK subsidiary of Marsh Global Holdings Ltd. which has substantial experience in manufacturing operations.

Ian Marchant, Chief Executive of SSE, said: "The development of a sustainable supply chain is a key priority for renewable energy developers such as SSE, and I am pleased that we are working with Marsh Wind Technology to secure the future of the Machrihanish plant. With the right business plan and management, it should be a sustainable business in every sense.

"As the market for offshore wind turbines develops from 2013 onwards it should be possible to expand the operation to fully utilise the excellent facilities which are now available at the site. While some restructuring may be necessary at the plant to position it for growth we would envisage the substantial majority of the workforce being retained, while the JV partners would also be looking at potential redeployment opportunities."

(GK)